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No university in India today can barely secure a place in the top 100. Many cannot even make it to the top 200. Often, questions are raised about why our country does not have world-class top universities. But there was a time when India was considered the center of education for the entire world. Just as today you see magnificent world-class universities like Oxford, Harvard, or Stanford, where children dream of studying and are willing to do anything for it, similarly, there was a university in India where people dreamed of studying. This was a university where gaining admission was more difficult than climbing Mount Everest. It was not an ordinary university, but a place where the level of exams like today's IIT, NEET, and UPSC was also low. Nearly 10,000 students did not come here just for bookish knowledge, but also to understand life, to live life correctly, and to understand the path to liberation of the soul, i.e., Moksha. In this university, students could also live while studying, as it was the world's first residential university. The name of this university was Nalanda University. We have heard many stories of Nalanda University, from its burning to its destruction, but do you know how big this university actually was? How did people study here? What was taught here? How did its education system work? We will learn all this in this video, so do watch the video till the end, because if you don't know your history, how will you recognize yourself? About 1154 km from Delhi, in the Bihar Sharif district of Bihar, there is a place called Rajgir. This is where the historic and great educational institution, Nalanda University, was situated. This university was spread over approximately 455 acres. The history of Nalanda is no less than a story. According to a legend, in ancient times, Nalanda was called Amra Garden, meaning a mango grove. It is believed that Lord Buddha taught wisdom to his disciples here for 3 months. Later, Emperor Ashoka built a Buddhist stupa here. But Nalanda emerged as a true center of learning when the Gupta dynasty king Kumaragupta established a university here in the 5th century, around 427 AD. He not only built this place but also provided ample resources to run it, making Nalanda a magnificent educational institution. After this, a journey of knowledge began in Nalanda that people cannot match even today. Nalanda is considered India's oldest and most famous Buddhist learning center. Students came here not only from India but from all over the world to study. This university ran for about 800 years. It had Buddhist monasteries, hostels, libraries, and classrooms. It had everything. In the 7th and 8th centuries, kings of the Pala dynasty like Gopala and Dharmapala also strengthened Nalanda and gave it a new identity. The history of Nalanda University seems no less than imagination. It was not an ordinary university, but a temple of knowledge that illuminated the entire world. It was the world's first residential university, meaning it had hostel rooms along with classrooms. Teachers and students lived together here, studied, and the tradition of learning and teaching continued. It is said that at one time, more than 10,000 students and teachers lived here. For such a large number of students and teachers, it is obvious that large-scale management and funds would have been needed, and thus the university remained a center of knowledge and intellect for about 800 years. Even among all these, Nalanda's library was a university in itself. It is said that more than 9 million books and manuscripts were kept in this university. Imagine in that era, when there were no printing machines, how significant it would have been to compile those handwritten books and then keep them safe for years, and how tough its management would have been. That's why I say that Nalanda's library was a university in itself. The Dalai Lama once said about this library that all the Buddhist knowledge we have today has come from Nalanda. This means that Nalanda was not just India, but an intellectual and spiritual center for all of Asia. Although, friends, the Gupta rulers were mostly Hindu, they also patronized Buddhism on a large scale. Nalanda University, which was a Buddhist religious center, was greatly protected by the Gupta kings. This was the era when India had religious and cultural freedom. This is why Nalanda did not teach only one subject or one religion. The approach to education here was multidisciplinary. This means that a single student was given knowledge of many subjects. In Nalanda, along with religion, many subjects were taught, such as literature, astrology, psychology, law, astronomy, sculpture, mathematics, economics, and medical science. By the 5th century, Nalanda also became a center of art, incorporating the styles of Mathura and Sarnath. During the Pala period, the Nalanda School of Art also developed here, the influence of which can be seen in architecture like Borobudur in Java. Historian Romila Thapar states that Nalanda was not just a university; it was a civilization's ecosystem. Here, along with studies, spirituality and discipline were also taught. Nalanda University was a Mahavihara, meaning a monastery, as you see in many Buddhist viharas even today. It was similar, but Nalanda was a civilizational ecosystem in itself. Education was certainly provided in Nalanda, friends, but along with it, various practices were also conducted, and discipline was also taught here. Thousands of students and monk scholars lived together in the hostels of this university, studied, and conducted research. But gaining admission to this university was as difficult as it is for IIT or NEET exams today. A Chinese scholar named Xuanzang came to Nalanda to research Buddhist texts. He wrote a lot about the entrance exam and the students' lifestyle. According to Xuanzang, the gatekeepers standing at the university gates rigorously tested the incoming students. This test was oral. According to historian R.K. Mukherjee, these gatekeepers were none other than highly intellectual pandits who asked deep questions to students proficient in the knowledge of Buddha and the Vedas. Those who came to study there needed to have good knowledge of texts from different religions and philosophies. It is said that only 20% of students could pass this exam, which is much tougher than today's NEET entrance examinations, where 7-8% succeed. Only those who received support from kings could come to study here. Even after getting admission, a student had to approach a guru and seek permission to become a disciple. Nalanda was not just a university but also a religious institution where one had to become a monk to study. Every student had the special grace of their guru, and all education was based on the mutual relationship between the guru and the disciple. This is why Xuanzang was astonished when he saw this monastery. He states that there were about 1510 teachers on this campus and around 10,000 monks, i.e., students, resided there. The morning for all of them began when a gong was sounded in the university, just like bells are rung in schools today. Xuanzang also mentions that in the evening, all the monks together performed Chaitya Vandana, i.e., worship, for Buddha. During this worship, a water clock called a Kairian was used for timekeeping. Along with this, a drum was played, and an instrument like a shehnai was also played. Xuanzang states that 8 hours of study took place daily in Nalanda. This study included debates, followed by discussions. Then, techniques for memorization were also taught, and finally, academic debates took place. The relationship between guru and disciple in Nalanda was considered very sacred. Every student remained connected to their guru for at least eight years. Teachers were considered no less than fathers to the children, because Buddha also said that a teacher's love is like a father's love. Now, as I mentioned earlier, there were 10,000 students and 1500 teachers, so the ratio between these children and teachers was quite good. On average, there were six to seven children per teacher. This was happening 1000 years ago. Imagine, even today, this is not possible. Even today, there are 40 to 50 children per student, while at that time, there were six to seven. Although Nalanda did not have a semester or grading system like today, a student's level of study was estimated by observation and understanding. The qualities of a good student were that they would bathe regularly and participate in prayers. In this regard, Nalanda's discipline was quite strict. Eating at the wrong time or breaking any rule was grounds for expulsion from Nalanda, meaning if you broke a rule, you would be expelled. Xuanzang writes that there was no forgiveness for mistakes here. Thus, Nalanda became very popular due to its long existence. The tax money from 100 cities was spent to run this place. Nalanda was not limited to India, friends. Students came here from distant countries like China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Iran, and Greece. Especially, Buddhist monks from China, Japan, Korea, and Sri Lanka studied here and took the teachings of Buddhism back to their countries. Xuanzang, through whose accounts I have told you so much, also came here in this way. In the 7th century, Xuanzang studied at Nalanda for many years and returned to China with 657 texts and 150 Buddhist relics. He translated these Buddhist texts into Chinese and established a separate school in China. After him, another Chinese traveler named Yijing stayed at Nalanda for 10 years, collected 400 different texts and hundreds of different relics, and returned. Similarly, the Tibetan scholar Thonmi Sambhota also came here to study. He gave a solid foundation to the Tibetan language, which helped Buddhism take root in Tibet. Chinese monk Yijing states that scholars and religious experts from all over the world came to Nalanda for studies during that era. Thanks to Nalanda, the concept of universities spread not only in India but also to Arabia and Europe. Many great intellectuals like Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Shantarakshita, and Kamalashila emerged here, who developed the recursive logic system. This also promoted a scientific way of thinking. Aryabhata, considered the father of Indian mathematics, wrote the text Aryabhatiya in Nalanda and established zero as a number. This thinking later became the foundation of algebra. Brahmagupta wrote Brahmisphutasiddhanta here, which was translated into Arabic as Sindhind, and through this text, Europe connected with India's number system, mathematics, and astronomy. A special aspect here was that education was not for money, but for self-knowledge and self-reliance. The students living here sought Moksha and wanted to learn new things. Just as Harvard or India's IITs attract students today, Nalanda was also famous worldwide. The library of Nalanda, which I told you about, did not have paper books like today, but thousands of palm-leaf manuscripts. Its largest section was a library called Ratnodadhi, a nine-story building. It housed millions of handwritten texts. It contained sources of deep knowledge related to philosophy, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and literature. According to UNESCO, Nalanda continuously propagated knowledge for about 800 years, and the library played a significant role in this continuity. Then, friends, around 1193, when Bakhtiyar Khilji attacked Nalanda, this library was set on fire. According to historians, this fire burned for several days because the number of texts there was so vast that the fire could not be extinguished. Thousands of years of collected knowledge turned to ashes in an instant. This event is considered one of the greatest intellectual losses in history. However, some people risked their lives to save these texts. The last scholar, Mahamuni Shakya Shri Bhadra, took some remaining texts to Tibet in 1204 AD. There, he continued to propagate the scriptures. The teachings of Nalanda are still alive in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition today. This is why Nalanda's legacy is still reflected in Tibetan Buddhism. Today, during excavations in the ruins of Nalanda, burnt pottery, clay fragments, and metal remnants are found, testifying to that ancient knowledge. For these historical reasons, UNESCO has declared Nalanda a World Heritage Site so that its great heritage can be preserved. Friends, the story of Nalanda teaches us that education is not limited to books; it is the path to self-knowledge, societal change, and true liberation. Nalanda was a place where the relationship between teachers and students was not just about teaching and learning, but a spiritual connection, an emotion. Today, when there is competition everywhere, a race to pass exams, and education is considered merely a means to a job, at such a time, Nalanda reminds us that true education is that which makes a person wise, gives them the freedom to think and learn from others. Just as the ancient Gurukuls had their dignity, similarly, today we need to deeply examine and understand our education system and make the necessary changes. Now, what do you think after hearing this story of Nalanda? Do let us know by commenting. Don't forget to like and share the video, and for such interesting stories, to stay connected with history, do subscribe to History Connect. Thank you.